In Brief #4: It's Been a Long Time Comin'...

Been forever since I've gotten a post finished and there's been so much bangin' shit showing up in my mailbox that I'm just gonna take care of things 12-gauge double-barrel buckshot style.

Ecstatic Cosmic Union - XCU [Eiderdown]
Planets Around the Sun - Cosmic Job [Eiderdown]
Datashock - LiveLoveData$ [Eiderdown] 
Jon Collin - The Great Stink [Eiderdown]
Seattle label, Eiderdown Records, must be commended for a very thorough, and surprisingly quick, development and definition of its aesthetic. After only an LP and six tapes, it's become very easy to spot an Eiderdown release. The sounds possessed within their earthly formats all fit pretty nicely together too. Eiderdown always likes to get psychedelic but does so in a variety of ways. Among the pleasant surprises in the most recent set of tapes is Ecstatic Cosmic Union--or XCU--a Seattle crew that has recently crawled out of the woodwork. Pumping out slightly dubby psych-funk grooves, this might be my favorite spooler of the batch. Live congas, spaced synths zipping about and filtered guitar smoke make this some seriously stellar shit, all captured with the warmth of a 4-track. The duo really gets things rippin' on "Skarab's Bones" the perfect soundtrack for a midnight spacecraft ride. This thing has some serious hit potential, can't stop this groove! Get blissed, get tranced, get groovin'.

On Cosmic Job, Planets Around the Sun offer up a side-long slow burner "Cock and Balls" first but really get to work on the flipside with "Bump Tongues." The drummer keeps things steadily thumpin' amid the sloshed vox and free flowing wah-fest. Straight up minimal psych groove. No frills, no problem. That track is the best distillation of the Planets Around the Sun vibe but they soldier on with a guitar only interlude and bring back the drums for a final go round.
Datashock get freaky with their pan-audio septet thing on "Into the Abyss." Gorgeous synth movements, slightly creepy wordless female humming, distant clangs and chimes, trippy rubber duck exhortations (no joke)... What am I supposed to call this stuff? Doesn't matter I suppose as long as we all just LiveLoveData$. Out of the abyss comes percussion giving the piece an instant structure--albeit a very leisurely one. A wandering fiddle joins up and the crew really starts feeling the vibes.
These guys know what they are doing. Seamless transition from weirdo forest zones to full-on psych blues stomp? Not so easy but the great Data$ totally NAIL it. The flip is called "Noch Ein Bisschen Erbs'" and, though I'm partial to the first side, it's probably just as good. Synth bubbles mingle with violin and backwards guitar before the drum kits get rockin'.

On the final tape, Jon Collin offers a set of minimal guitar pieces with the appetizing title of The Great Stink. The six-string woozefest is populated by coughs, power tools and other incidental noises among the twist and twirl of guitar strings. The first piece, recorded in Sweden, is a bit more coarse than the rest, featuring Collin on acoustic guitar, wandering through the pines and ending with a mild take on Bill Orcutt's guitar rough-ups. The next three pieces feature Collin on electric guitar with varying levels of distortion, be it the smooth and drippy "Snake Road" or the wave of fuzz on "The Lark in the Morning." Collin really stretches his limbs--and goes all mental patient on us once or twice--on "Furniture Makers Medley" which unfurls over the entire second side.
All tape covers are beautifully screen-printed by A Crenshaw at Broken Press--continuing to keep Eiderdown's packaging aesthetic uniformly excellent across all releases. The other element that I must praise: none of these tapes run too long, a common symptom of psychedelic music. Thank you for the editorial third eye!

Adderall Canyonly - From Below We Reach Above [Tranquility Tapes]
Adderall Canyonly - Excelsius Minor [Rubber City Noise]
I've heard a pair of recent Adderall Canyonly cassettes, From Below We Reach Above and Excelsius Minor and damn, gotta say I'm impressed. (Not that I haven't said that before) These two tapes definitely show a different direction for the project, one that may just transcend its goofball moniker. Previously, AC sort of worked as the house band for the Field Hymns label, ready to start a party at a moment's notice. However, gone are the fizzy synths and bubbly beats, someone left a window open and these releases are suitably drafty. Every once in a while I was reminded of the chillier bits of Vangelis's Chariots of Fire score, maybe a slight intimation of Carpenter here and there. Really though, what I like about this stuff is that you never catch more than a brief whiff of the influences at work. I don't mean to say that these are entirely "original" (whatever that means) but that all reference points have been seamlessly integrated into a new fabric. "Song for a Broken Rhodes" off of Excelsius Minor is a piece that caught my attention instantly and easily nudged itself into the group of elite Adderall Canyonly compositions, a modest little epic that vaguely reminded me of early GY!BE and even Alexandre Desplat's recent work on Zero Dark Thirty.
All the work across both these tapes exhibits oodles of restraint, making each sound and every layer pull its weight. From Below We Reach Above is certainly befitting of the Tranquility Tapes namesake, though you're never allowed to get too comfortable. In contrast, Excelsius Minor has a bit of a Gothic, procession-like feel to it. Both are pretty excellent and amount to some of the finest work I've heard from this guy.
You're attention please, Mr. Canyonly has something to say.

Survive - HDXV [Holodeck]
Thousand Foot Whale Claw - Dope Moons Volume One [Holodeck]
JU4N - Vaporware [Holodeck]
Sungod - Contackt [Holodeck]
Dylan C - Samsara [Holodeck]
Smokey Emery - Soundtracks for Invisibility Vol. II [Holodeck]
Man, if Austin, TX's Holodeck Records kills it with any more releases, it'll technically be a spree. So, yeah, these guys were responsible for dropping this little thing called Troller that I couldn't get enough of (or say enough about.) And then now we have HDXV and Dope Moons Volume One, my newest Holodeck obsessions. This doesn't even include that other Survive tape. Or the Amasa Gana one. Or that M. Geddes Gengras tape. Or the... well you get the idea.
The techno successor to that Troller masterpiece (in spirit anyway,) Survive issues a heady slab of programmatic composition. Complexly (and expertly) designed and brimming with melodies, where do I start? I guess I could say "Hourglass" is the fucking jam, but that may draw focus away from the whole album which is chock full of gems. I guess I could start listing influences: John Carpenter, Adult.'s neo-Suicide grime-grooves, Tangerine Dream a la Thief... nah. You know what, I'm not even gonna try to get into it because you should listen to the goddam thing. Don't take my word for it, just go here and listen to it and then buy the tape cause it sounds so much sweeter in fully analog fashion. This Survive dude is totally entitled to one of those tiger blood-fueled Charlie Sheen "winning" moments, but he won't partake cause he ain't one to brag. He's satisfied with merely blowing (out) minds.

Alright now after that head expansion, you got these bastards who call themselves Thousand Foot Whale Claw up next. What kind of band is this? I was under the impression given by their last tape that this was a drone band. And judging by the first and last track that's pretty right-on, but then again in the middle they shift gears into a full-fledged techno band. These guys are like a one-cut running back, they see the hole and decisively blast through. Once they hit the groove, they ride it to the end zone. Good Lord, that "tambourine" on "Ganymede," if I had friends this is what I'd put on at a party, instead I just put it on, clean the apartment and GET SHIT DONE. 1000ftWC got no time to fuck around and neither do I!

Vaporware by JU4N is the perfect comedown from the delirious heights of HDXV and Dope Moons Volume One; employing the same principles of those too but in a much more breezy, effervescent fashion. "Last Night in Cyberia" is certainly a high point, setting forth a fragmentary but oh-so-comforting sound collage.
Those first two tapes are pretty much essential for people who like music. That JU4N ain't a bad chaser either, making them a hell of a hydra altogether. They all make you feel so good, and each in a little different way.
It kinda seems unfair that Holodeck has cornered the market on "awesome synthesizer shit" this fast.

Elsewhere in the recent Holodeck batch is a psych burner from Sungod. The duo lays waste to acoustic and electric guitars, drums, a Moog Opus 3, a SCI Six-Track, piano and a tape machine. Needless to say things get pretty epic. In a lot of ways this a divergence from the previous Holodeck sounds but presence of analog synths and repetitive (sequenced?) grooves keeps this psychedelic blowout humming right along with the other artists in the Holodeck stable. The proggy psych thing can be tough sell on these ears but this is some good stuff.

I had Chicago's resident electronic music fascist, Brian Labycz, explain to me the difference between techno and house once, I honestly don't remember the difference but I'm pretty sure Dylan C brings the house on this one (I'm really liking my football references today.) Samsara is a faux-double album with the first side's song set labeled "Causes" and the second titled "Conditions." It's house music on cassette tape which is probably the most palatable way to export the genre to someone like me. I've always found my favorite house tracks to be ones that are comforting and cassette tape is the preferred mode of transport as it adds some extra warmth. I think Dylan C is at his best on the 1-2 punch of "Make 'Em Feel It" and "Genuine Vibes." My favorite of the rave-ups, "Fogman," gets goofy with 8-bit arpeggios galore and even slings around a few dub moves. The "Conditions" side takes things into darker territory, with a stronger emphasis on that nighttime feeling. Dylan C really hits his stride on "Time Warriors (ft. VVV)" my favorite track of the side. Wrapping up the album is a remix of an unreleased Troller track (who Dylan C also produces.) This isn't as up-my-alley as the Holodeck tapes I mentioned earlier but there's some nice stuff here--now I have a go-to cassette when I find myself in a house state of mind.

Smokey Emery shifts gears quite a bit on Soundtracks for Invisibility Vol. II: You Take the High Road. After diving into the deep end of synths and programming, I'm toweling off with the vague, found textures of Daniel Hipolito's project. The woozy vibes come via home-spliced, tape machine gnarled loops of samples,  field recordings and live instruments. Hipolito whips up a dense stew of sound; melodies are present but you have to dig through the muck to find 'em. That isn't the case, however, on "The Lights are Big and I'm Driving Home" which amounts to the default single. It's pretty dang catchy with a sauntering jingle-jangle and repetitive organ melody. While Hipolito follows it up with the percussive, thundering "A Face in the Crowd" most of these pieces fit firmly into the "environmental listening" drawer. Nice stuff and a complete 180 from its counterparts in the batch.

Smokey Emery - Quartz [Indian Queen]
Silent Land Time Machine - I am no longer alone with myself and can only artificially recall the scary and beautiful feeling of solitude [Indian Queen]
Indian Queen is a sister label of sorts to Holodeck which explains Smokey Emery's presence. Quartz is a 1/4 hour 7inch in contrast to the more expansive tape I just covered and also sounds even more wasted and blurry if you can believe it. The trio of pieces amount to one big greasy smear, with the vinyl crackle adding an extra textural layer. One of the deepest and darkest 7inches I've ever heard.

Silent Land Time Machine's EP comes to you on a clear 12" 180gram platter in a nice professional jacket. The racket is a colorful hodge-podge of electronic and acoustic, music and non-music. It comes off at times like a more scatterbrained, less classically-oriented Sean McCann. Various bowed strings, reversed and otherwise fucked samples, lots of aural underbrush. The record occasionally locks into a short, potent melody and sets its sights on infinite expansion such as on "Remembering Names" nestling you into the repetition 'til it ends like a blanket ripped away. The following track, "Kissa," oddly enough ends up being a quasi-dance number. Yep, distorted samples rumbling frenetically beneath mournful, floating tones somehow equates to dance music in my mind. Perhaps my favorite tune is the waltzing opener of the second side, deemed "An Own to One's Room." Fragments of piano, accordion and violin, along with murmured vocals, step along in rhythm--drifting endlessly in circles. Holodeck also dropped this on magnetic tape so pick yr poison.

Adoption - Nineteen Ninety [Skrot Up]
AG Davis, Florida's resident (non-politician) crazy person, has a new band. It's called Adoption. Davis and new collaborator A. Kalaczynski lay waste to the rare C5 format, cramming 10 tracks onto the 5 minute cassette. Firing blast beats like they're Sonny Corleone's assassins, this is ostensibly dance floor fodder--a strange, forbidden alchemy of Sissy Spacek and those as-seen-on-TV Ultimate Dance Party compilations. Brutal drum programming and synth goop courtesy of Kalaczynski clash with Davis's distorted vox and signature "editing" for max disorientation. This is that fucked up, factory-chewed crayon in the brand new box of 50. Love the stark piano interlude dudes!

In Brief #3: Rock & Roll on tape

I've received a few tapes recently that all rock out in various fashions so I'm lumping them all together here. After all they are all united under the umbrella of ROCK. Plus, their all self-released tapes, what's more rock & roll than that?

Railings - Railings [No Label]
I've been listening to this tape by Railings a lot. It's the enigmatic project of an A. Ian Smith. It's far from perfect and is uneven in many ways, but it has something. I don't know what that something is exactly but there's just this certain magic to it. While it's quite rough-hewn in particular areas, at various points Railings transcends its modest bedroom origins
After the mellow sample-fueled intro "The Carter," Smith launches into a strong 80s pop-rock vibe that is morphed into a magic wand and waved at will. In a weird way, this thing sort of sounds like Prince and Bono fronting a post-punk band filtered through the lens of occasionally sampledelic bedroom production value. As someone who pretty much hates Bono, that may sound offputting but it's actually awesome.
Frenetic drum machine is pushed loudly to the forefront while being caressed by soft synths and reverb-laden guitar. Most striking are Smith's vocals, which seem to stretch from the far corner of the room. He really goes for it vocally and manages to pull it off, making it one the tape's most appealing traits. "W.O.R.L.D. (Harry Chapin)" and "Guidonian Hand" illustrate this aesthetic well but the cassette's absolute pinnacle and the track that continues to captivate me without fail is "Plastic Veins-Irrigation Channels." It's a mesmerizing work pop song artistry. With a decidedly limited palette Smith conjures up an alluring work brimming with charismatic hooks. Every time I listen, it's never long enough.
Whether Smith is getting a little jazzy on "Ern'" or downshifting into full-blown power-ballad mode on "Gear Mountain" whilst interspersing instrumental vignettes along the way, it's all a refreshing take on home-recorded cassette culture. I can't say whether you'll like it or not but you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't check it and find out. It seems to me like only a matter of time before people catch on to this guy.
Buy/Check out here

Psychic Blood - Autumn Curses [No Label]
Psychic Blood is a Massachusetts power trio that channel 1980s Sonic Youth with no remorse. Seriously, I'm pretty sure this could be some sort of meta-music art thing. They drop riffs from "Catholic Block" out of nowhere, on a song called "Tuff Love"--I mean there's just no way they aren't trying really hard to sound like 80s SY. They named a song "Daydream." I love Sister, it's a great album so, hey, why not try to sound as awesome as it does, right?
The trio eschews all the hi-falutin' avant-garde moves for the most part and just rock out, retaining the snark, the slashing strings over propulsive drums and dynamic song structures. "Annihilator" knocks out some catchy chord progressions en route to combative noise mongering and slips into the feedback glisten of "Roving Mind." "Here is No Truth" has a "Beauty Lies in the Eye" feel but gets considerably more aggro. And oh yeah, did I mention that they named a fucking song "Daydream." It's actually one of the best ones as it uses Sonic Youth a little more as a jumping off point rather than an end-goal. It develops into a sweet little song with a wordless, cooing refrain. If they fill their tapes with pop hooks like that they really might be getting somewhere.
Basically this isn't original in the least but it doesn't claim to be (and I'd argue it acknowledges it with a wink.) I also can't say I didn't enjoy it. I'd take a good, unabashed Sonic Youth worship/ripoff band over a lot of others. Plus, the band sounds like they really enjoy playing together (and listening to Sonic Youth) and sometimes that's all that really matters in life.
You can buy or download here and make your own judgment.

Weakwick - Weakwick [No Label]
Weakwick is an odd little duo. At first glance, their jams sound like an amalgam of Gay Beast and Lightning Bolt (after multiple glances this still holds fairly true actually.) After all, those are some pretty damn good bands to sound like. However, where Weakwick really hit their stride are tracks such as "Weisenwytch" and "Heiress Error" which use repetition in a weirdly hypnotic fashion. Sometimes it's live, sometimes it sounds electronically aided, but the duo locks into these strange little zones among the treble-laden spikiness. It has shades of latter-day Royal Trux to me. There are a few post-hardcore-esque vocals moves in there once in a while to make sure the listener doesn't get too comfortable. There's a sort of obnoxiousness to the hypnosis that really works. It's intriguing and surprisingly captivating.
On "Minglers," they only push it halfway to song status, deeming the repetitive creaks, buzzes and garbled vocals to be sufficient mood setters. They can flip the switch back and forth going from "Minglers" to the straight-up punk rock of "Fashion Fingers" back to the guitar skronk of ">" They can even pull off melodically driven tracks like "Fluid Alone" or the bleached blues of "The Hits." These aren't ballads mind you, but they are structured with weird spindly riffs.
Another band that comes to mind is Sightings, though Weakwick is far less fierce and intimidating  Each band explores amplified minimalism, breaking rock & roll into a million pieces and duct taping the shards back together. I think this is Weakwick's first tape so I'm definitely intrigued to see what the future holds and how they go on to develop their sound. One of the more interesting "new" noise rock bands I've heard in a while.
I actually have no idea how one would go about procuring a copy of this tape but you can check out their Soundcloud page here

Music that I listened to last year that I liked the most a.k.a. Best of 2012 (sort of)

Everyone on this list deserves a shiny gold medal! High fives all around!

Disclaimer: This post is not exactly a "best of" for records released in 2012. A friend of mine once wisely commented "I don't get why people just do year-end lists for records released that year, they should include any awesome record they listened to a lot that year." I've got to say, the dude's right. If you discover an awesome jazz record from the 40s that you listened to more than anything else that year, it needs to be on yr list. A lot of people include reissues so they're already blurring the line anyway. Because of time constraints, the contents of the list don't go further back than a couple years (I think, I didn't look up release dates or anything)

A number of these I have reviewed on the site in which case I have a said a few words and linked to my original reviews. I also tried to provide links to a place to buy each release (if available.)

(Sorry there are no visual aids on this one, writing the words and dealing with all the links took enough time that I just wanted to get this posted)

Troller - Troller [Holodeck] (CS)

Have I gushed enough about this album yet? Oh my fuck, I just love it so much. The songs, the atmosphere, this is a special work; one I feel fortunate to have heard. I don't know what exactly I've listened to the most this past year but this is very possibly it. I break this brilliant album down in excruciating detail in my original review so I will refrain from rehashing previous thoughts. I will just say that if anything at all intrigues you about this then get it, I know I'm going to be listening to this for years to come. The tape's been long sold out but Holodeck is releasing this as a vinyl long player next Tuesday so expect to see this on my Best of 2013 list as well. BUY THIS

Golden Retriever - Light Cones [Root Strata] (LP)

Matt Carlson's solo LP on DRAFT was quite good but my favorite work by him is, unequivocally, here with Jonathan Sielaff as Golden Retriever. Light Cones is the finest work I've heard from the duo, really on another level. The two minds and their respective instruments, Carlson's modular synth and Sielaff's effected bass clarinet, blend so seamlessly that I almost forget this is being made by people. These sounds just seem to exist, organic forms that spontaneously sprung to life when the rest of the universe did. They soar, brimming with the joy of existence. That is not to say there isn't a strong compositional component at work, Carlson and Sielaff prove themselves to be masters pretty thoroughly with these two pieces. When the exhaustively wondrous title-piece ends, you're only halfway done; the best is yet to come with the yearning, majestic "Observer." This record has the timelessness of a great piece of classical music or film score, I hope future generations have the opportunity to be moved by this gloriously cosmic work. BUY THIS

Son of Salami - Deli Days [Night People] (CS)

A dude recording songs on a tape recorder with a broken erase head (i.e. overdubbing without hearing what's already been recorded) sounds like a gimmicky disaster, right? A person named Joey Pizza Slice who plays under the moniker Son of Salami doesn't necessarily inspire that much confidence either. As things turn out, Mr. Pizza Slice is exactly the right man for the job. He also happens to be a pop genius. The songs on Deli Days are brilliantly conceived, often funny and even touching. The ultra lo-fi production process turns out to be the perfect vehicle for illuminating the qualities of these pieces. I've jammed this so many times and the Salami is still exceedingly potent. Amazingly, this tape is still in print at Night People (is Shawn Reed doing larger editions now? if so THANK YOU!) If you haven't heard this guy yet then buy this immediately. These songs are way too good for you to live without.

BUY THIS

Running - Running [Permanent] (LP)
Running/Loose Dudes - Split [Catholic Male] (7")
Running - Asshole Savant [Captcha] (one-sided LP + soundsheet)

I fucking love this Running band. If you don't have their self-titled LP grab it immediately. Same with their split with Loose Dudes if you can find it (though Loose Dudes even outdo Running on that release.) Their most recent release Asshole Savant is also pretty sweet too. The band just fucking rules, I think I've described them stupidly as The Jesus Lizard partying on amphetamines or something. Whatever, just get your hands on their music and crank it up. This is some cathartic, feel-great music. Yes! BUY THIS and BUY THIS

Original Review (LP)

Original Review (7")

Eli Keszler - Cold Pin [PAN] (LP)

2012 was the year I discovered Eli Keszler. I grabbed a bunch of his stuff over the past year including favorites such as his Oxtirn LP on ESP-Disk and the End Grove double cassette on his own Rel imprint. But of everything I heard, it all boils down to Cold Pin. Keszler is a percussionist (or more accurately a "musician") but he's also a composer and an installation/sound artist. The record seems to capture the many facets of Keszler in one piece of work. This LP finds Keszler leading a small ensemble in a performance with his Cold Pin installation, a complex series of strings mounted in a large round room that are struck by small motors. The installation provides the aural and physical framework in the which the ensemble performs. The recording is fantastically physical and fantastically alive. (By the way, this was a birthday present from my girlfriend; I am a lucky man...) BUY THIS

Purling Hiss - Hissteria [Richie] (LP)
Purling Hiss - Public Service Announcement [Woodsist] (LP)

I was late to the party on this guy, but I'm glad I showed up eventually. I picked up these two LPs at a record store's going-out-of-business sale and I had no idea what an incredibly wise purchase I was making. I've been waiting my whole life to hear a certain record only present in my head and think Hissteria just might be it. The hypnotic guitar-centric repetition of Spacemen 3 delivered with blown-out, boogie-fueled swagger. Awesome, just awesome. Public Service Announcement is also pretty great too and finds Mr. Hiss experimenting with various pop modes including a pleasing reggae-ish bounce on one. "Run from the City" should be retroactively added to all those compilations claiming they're the "definitive classic rock collection." BUY THIS

Evan Parker & John Wiese - C-Section [PAN] (LP)

Evan Parker improvises on saxophone while John Wiese samples and manipulates Parker's sounds in real time. The record sounds as great as that sentence does. Wiese and Parker are at the top of their respective games, having lots of fun I assume and pushing the boundaries of jazz while they're at it. I'm not sure if the LP is still available but the CD version on Second Layer may be. Enjoy this excerpt while you search.

Lab Coast - Pictures on the Wall [Eggy] (CS)
Lab Coast - Editioned Houses [Night People] (CS)

Who woulda thought that avant-percussionist Chris Dadge had been stashing so many great pop songs all these years? This isn't your typical person -making-weird-music-starts-making-normal-music, because if you heard Lab Coast with no knowledge of Dadge you wouldn't have the slightest inkling that one of the main minds behind the band is an avant-garde improviser who heads a label peddling wares by similarly abstract artists. Lab Coast sounds classic but fresh, mining somewhat similar territory as early GBV records, the band generates unassumingly brilliant songs. I dare you to listen to "Really Realize" or "On the Bus" and not fall in love. Lab Coast is a band that, no matter how you're feeling, will always put a smile on your face. Between these two, Pictures on the Wall is more essential because it's a full album while Editioned Houses is more of an EP with a live recording on the flip. Still, they're both must haves in my book. BUY THIS and BUY THIS

Alex Barnett - Push [DRAFT] (CS)

If you haven't heard any of Alex Barnett's music yet, you've been missing out. Dude's stuff hearkens back to the early days of John Carpenter, among others, and rumor is that Alex performs all this stuff live sans sequencers, loops etc.!!  Barnett really knows how to compose a track, there's nothing too fancy about his stuff; he introduces a theme, develops it, brings the track to fruition and moves on to a new idea. Push may be his best tape so definitely do what you can to snag it. I've listened to it countless times... BUY THIS

German Army - Papua Mass [Night People] (CS)
German Army has been one of my favorite discoveries of the past year and this tape is the one of theirs that's closest to my heart. The duo uses their powers of abstract, dubbed-out chillness to make some surprisingly persuasive (and trippy) pop songs (and do a bunch of other weird shit too.) I'm not sure if lethargy has ever been this catchy. Check this band out!

Original Review

Caethua/Shep and Me - Split [Lighten Up Sounds] (LP)

Man, this record is so good. Lighten Up Sounds restored the release (which originally saw the light via poorly dubbed cassette a few years back) so you can now properly immerse yourself in the blanket of sounds via thick 180gram vinyl. On the first side, Clare Hubbard's genius songsmithery and compositional prowess is on display for all to enjoy , as we wade through a swamp with her, humming along to the nimble arrangements. Shep and Me fill the backside with warped, plaintive folk songs--including one which borrows lyrics from Jim Thompson. I feel like this record came out kind of a while ago now but I just keep listening and it still sounds as fresh and timeless as it ever did. BUY THIS

Original Review

Man Made Hill - Intercourses [Orange Milk] (CS)

I remember being intrigued by this dude a couple years ago when he put out an LP. Heard some fascinating things about him but I never ended up pulling the trigger, can't remember why.  Fast forward some time and I'm jamming Free Form Freakout (I'm pretty sure that I don't actually have to say David is lightyears ahead of everyone else in the experimental music podcast realm, but he is) and I hear "Glass Trap." Holy shit! What a track! The jam dug its hooks in me immediately (they're still in there! gonna need surgery to get 'em out) and so I checked out Intercourses and, yep, this thing is great from start to finish. And while "Glass Trap" is certainly the pinnacle for me, everything else that surrounds it is stellar. (I don't know if there's anything that grooves harder than "Morbid Rhapsody") Intercourses is rife with experimentation--no question this was made by a demented musical mind--but it's not the way he deconstructs electronic music that makes this great, it's the fact that he can rebuild it so impeccably. Each track is bizarre but, more importantly, each is a brilliantly-designed pop music gem. Orange Milk reissued Sean McCann's classic Open Resolve album too so I need to be more tuned in to their workshop, they've got good taste it seems. BUY THIS

Sheer Agony - Sheer Agony [Fixture] (7")

It's not often that a straight pop record makes its way into the review pile but it's always an exciting proposition when it happens. Sheer Agony did not disappoint either. The Canadian trio has all the classic ingredients: well-written, tightly wound songs; a veritable buffet of hummable riffs and hooks; nods to the pioneers that came before while throwing plenty of curveballs to keep the listeners guessing. 4 songs in a handful of minutes packed with enough ideas for a 12 inch and orchestrated to perfection. BUY THIS

Original Review

Jason Crumer & Joseph Hammer - Show 'em the Door [Accidie] (CD)
This disc was a late entry in the year but man after hearing the opener "Banner Drop" the first time I was already thinking classic. I'm not particularly familiar with either Crumer's or Hammer's work but considering the magnitude of their collaboration here, I really must correct that. It's not completely clear what Hammer and Crumer have at their disposal here, tape loops and electronics seem to figure prominently though. The album witnesses the interplay of samples and possibly live instrumentation with processing. For instance, "Banner Drop" opens with a brass fanfare that is slowly obliterated over the course of the piece. On another, they work over a recording of someone tuning a guitar. The album is immensely tactile, unflappably intense and well-thought out by Crumer and Hammer who I think are entirely improvising here. The results of their collaboration are immediate, intricate and utterly symphonic. More please. I could see at some point in the future a label hailing this a rediscovered classic and reissuing it as some deluxe double-lp set that legions will snap up. Don't be caught on the wrong side of history. BUY THIS

Miami Angels in America - A Public Ranking [Night People] (CS)

Angels in America add the South Beach prefix and make their best album yet. I dig Allergic to Latex quite a bit ("Troy Bellamy" is a classic) but A Public Ranking is stellar from the first looming, massive note of "Go Limp" to the final throb of "On the Beach."  This has the beauty of a burnt out car. The tape is demoralizing in the most exhilarating way. One of coolest bands going right now.  BUY THIS


Matt Carlson/Jason E. Anderson - Synthesator Vol. Three: Dissociative Synthesis [UFO Mongo/Borft] (LP)

Two of the finest synthesizer minds in current operation face off for a 40 minute modular sparring session. This is, to the best of my knowledge, Jason Anderson's only recording of the modular variety. Anderson (who's put out ridiculously good stuff as Spare Death Icon, Harpoon Pole Vault and with Brother Raven) absolutely flips his wig here. My favorite modular workout I've heard in a long time. Carlson's side ain't too shabby either. Everyone's gotten pretty obsessed with synths the past few years which has made it a little more difficult to weed out the masters from the legions of apprentices, but make no mistake these guys fit firmly in the former category. BUY THIS

Dull Knife - Dull Knife [Debacle] (LP)
Dull Knife has been one of my favorite drone crews for years, morphing from a quartet, to trio, to duo and after patiently waiting through various false starts, DK finally found a reliable partner in Debacle to drop a debut LP. Dull Knife were definitely one of my favorite local bands to see play when I was in Seattle, and I think this record marks their finest recorded output. While dense and surprisingly severe at times, the duo never relinquish their trademarked hidden melodicism and mysterious atmosphere that they conjure up so well. The Dull Knife on this record is sharper (no pun intended) and out for blood. I don't mind playing the victim. BUY THIS

Ithi - Within [Land of Decay] (CS)

Number None - Strategies Against Agriculture [Land of Decay] (CS)

This Ithi tape really caught me off guard back in the first half of the year. At once melodic, mesmerizing, prickly and bludgeoning, the cassette is deeply absorbing. Perhaps greatest of all is a nearly unrecognizable re-imagining of Nico's "Roses in the Snow."  Ithi really take you to another world on this one.  Also,"Ithi" is within "within" (mind blown)

Land of Decay rescued this monolith by Number None from unreleased limbo (I think the rumor is that defunct label American Grizzly (remember them?) was supposed to have released this 4 years ago or something) I'm beginning to wonder if this thing was kept under wraps for the purposes of public safety cause it's absolutely CRUSHING. Sure, it'll cave in your skull but what are you, chicken?

The Ithi tape flew off the shelves so to speak and is long sold out, however, there is one copy(!) left of the Number None tape -> BUY THIS
Original Review

Ali Helnwein - Strange Creations [Spring Break Tapes]

How cool is this tape? Lovely chamber vignettes seemingly composed for a film yet to be written. Helnwein covers a lot of territory while maintaining a seamless thru-line over the course of the cassette. Strange Creations reminds me sometimes of Carter Burwell's work, which is a hell of a complement if I do say so. This is a talented guy and an inspired release by Spring Break Tapes, kudos to both!! BUY THIS

Tough Fuzz - Tough Fuzz [Ewe of Now]

Totally sick beats from Portland, OR! I didn't know what to expect from an artist called "Tough Fuzz" but this tape surpassed my wildest expectations/dreams. Despite the name, the tape grooves easy. There's a substantial amount of peculiarity to the sample-laden affair but when it comes down to it, these are just infectious beats pure and simple. People into Dilla or Primo got to check this out. My only regret is I got this later in the year and didn't have it for summertime. Summer 2013 here we come! BUY THIS

Hit Singles

That title is really a misnomer as these are all really good records but each has one specific song that makes me go hogwild. Every release is worth owning if only for the one song and, as far as I'm concerned, the fact they all come from great albums is just a fucking bonus.

Running/Loose Dudes - Split [Catholic Male] (7")

This one's so good it gets mentioned twice. Running's side "Left-Lane Leaning" is great but the true star of the single is Loose Dudes' "Black Preacher." This is what rock & roll is supposed to be. Catchy as all hell, a definite must have. Sold out as far as I can tell, so steal someone else's copy if you have to! What's a little jail time if you get to hear one of the greatest anthems ever? BUY THIS HERE!!

Original Review

David Kenneth Nance - Let's Argue [Unread Records] (CS)

Oh man, the first time "Leather in the Box" rained terror down on my speakers I was in heaven. Some sort of unholy Lou Reed/Ben Wallers amalgam that Nance imbues with own signature vibes. A tour-de-fucking-force. Best S&M song since "Venus in Furs," for sure. BUY THIS

Original Review

April in the Orange - Mirror Under the Moon [Cae-sur-a] (CS)

Psych folk is a difficult genre to pull off in my opinion and April in the Orange do a hell of a job over the course of this tape. They don't scale greater heights than "Same Old Mystery." A simple, lovely tune that gets under your skin. What a gorgeous piece of work. BUY THIS
Original Review

The Keggs - To Find Out/Girl [Priority Male](7")

Priority Male reissued this unsung classic from 1967 and I, for one, am thankful that they did. I don't have much to say other than just listen. "To Find Out" has to be one of the best songs of the 60s, a brilliant, frenetic classic. A must own. BUY THIS

Horaflora/Bromp Treb - Split [Yeay!] (7")

This split single was a match made in heaven. Abstract weirdo dance party. Horaflora plays lead off hitter and Bromp Treb smacks the fucker out the park with "Readinessmax." Must own for the Bromp Treb track alone. BUY THIS

Original Review

Arklight - The Beginners [Teflon Beast] (CS)

"Abandoned Mansions," what a great track! Just fucking solid. Could listen to it over and over, and have. NY weirdos Arklight flip the script and turn into a bonafide rock band.  These guys are good at pretty much whatever they try. Don't let that title fool you either, dudes are old pros. BUY THIS

Favorite Labels Over the Past Year
I think the title says it all, no need for an intro...

Holodeck (Austin, TX)

Holodeck is the only rookie that received this obviously distinguished achievement which is saying something. It's hard to start a label and it's even harder to start a label that puts out consistently great shit. I'm sure you've noticed me gushing incessantly about the Troller tape they put out and well, that's not the only keeper they dropped. Survive, Amasa Gana, Lumens and M. Geddes Gengras all dropped exceedingly great tapes. What I love the most? I had never heard of 4 of the 5 artists I mentioned in this paragraph. This Austin, TX imprint seems to be cultivating from a private talent pipeline, which I won't question as long they keep the black gold pumping.

Field Hymns (Portland, OR)

Field Hymns has been pretty much consistently great since its inception. Field Hymns' bread and butter seems to be peppy, electronically fueled grooves (with suitably goofy word play) from house bands Adderall Canyonly and Oxykitten, among a slew of other likeminders. Among the steady current of good time jams, every so often Field Hymns will drop unusual little treasures like Foton's interplanetary, radiophonic adventure Omega, or Susurrus's self-titled drone batholith, or Mattress's grimy and gutsy synth soul on Lonely Souls, or even the hilarious, sardonic acoustic tales of White Glove. If you take the time to dig deeper you will discover that the Field Hymns realm stretches far wider than you thought. Plus the tapes are always dressed to the nines via Dylan McConnell's graphic design work. I've really enjoyed getting to know the label even better this past year. Keep an eye out as Field Hymns always has something fresh brewing.

Peira (Chicago, IL)

I certainly have an analog bias, I freely admit it. Which makes CD label Peira's inclusion pretty meaningful (I've chatted with Peira CEO Brian Labycz, and dude's got legit reasons for going digital FYI) The label's mission seems to be pretty simple: provide well-curated, high quality improvised music editions. Whether acoustic, electric or combo Peira peddles top-notch improv. Every disc I've heard from them is cool as hell and stands apart from other stuff in the same realm. I wrote about Aaron Zarzutzki's and Fred Lonberg-Holm's no-output turntable and cello duels earlier in the year but there's a small stack of other amazing stuff in my possession that I haven't even touched on: the sensational Mythic Birds disc (a band comprised of 3 bass clarinets and a modular synth!) as well as phenomenal discs by the Gregorio, Roebke, Labycz Trio (clarinet/contrabass/modular synth) and The Green Pasture Happiness (a brilliant dual turntable plus electronics trio.) One of the things I most love about Peira's output is the interaction between musicians present in every release. Each release feels like more than a one-off, whether it's true or not, the group of musicians on any given disc feel like they've been playing for years. The last stack of discs I went through, I was flabbergasted how each disc one-upped the one before. I feel Peira is like one of those rock polisher machines, mining the raw, potent improvisatory talent Chicago seems to be teeming with and finishing them into crisp, gleaming gems. I don't know how Labycz does it, but when it comes to esoteric, improvised music there are few sources more substantial or reliable than Peira.

Night People (Iowa City, IA)

Night People landed more releases on the list above than anyone else so it goes without saying that they get a mention here. Everyone knows and loves the label already having put out fantastic stuff through the years (Chris Cooper & Bill Nace, Baronic Wall, Terror Bird LP, FNU Ronnies, the list goes on...) This may have been the most consistently top notch year yet. Keep it rolling Shawn!

Miscellaneous Bonus Section

Here's some other music-related stuff I've enjoyed during the past year.

Chris Riggs's Website

Finally getting a chance to see Chris Riggs play guitar was fucking awesome. Dude's a stone-cold killer. One of my great and actually quite recent discoveries of last year was christophertriggs.com The guy's got like a million hours of material up there for free download (yet I still complain privately that he doesn't put up collaborations or the occasional release from another label) Basically the website's a treasure trove for people into non-idiomatic guitar iterations (me) and plus, Chris gives you insight into his process using actual words (nice!) Hit up the link above and explore for yourself one of the finest guitarists currently in operation.

Streamables

Despite its origins as a place for jackasses to share videos of themselves, Youtube has actually turned into a pretty cool thing that is allowing me to conveniently share a couple of songs that I must have jammed hundreds of times this year. I don't think any of these are that new but they logged tons of minutes on the old listen-o-meter this year so I offer them up for (perhaps) your own listening pleasure:

Nico "Sixty Forty"

Masta Ace "No Regrets"

Thane Russal "Security"
The Ramones "I Wanna Live"

Desire "Under Your Spell"

GZA "Words from the Genius"

Talking Heads "This Must Be The Place"

Blank Dogs "Meltdown Cloud"

Spacemen 3 "O.D. Catastrophe"

Akon "Somebody I Used to Know" (crank this in the big headphones!)

New Shit Has Come to Light #1

Alright, so it's been tough to find time to do some thorough reviewing lately, even the scaled-back thoroughness of the In Brief segments so here is a new non-thorough segment where I'm just gonna talk quickly about stuff coming through the door with the expectation that I will be able to go into in more detail later.

I Want to Kill Every Human - I Want to Kill Every Human [Bill Murray Tapes]
I Want to Kill Every Human - Newfoundland [Bill Murray Tapes]
When I got this package I thought, man, Bill Murray is really makin' it in the underground (wasn't there an LP by a dude going by Bill Murray earlier this year or last year?) Turns out this Bill Murray Tapes operation was started 4 or so years ago, so I can't call the name a recent trend. So far it seems like a vanity label for I Want to Kill Every Human as all releases have been by that artist. In the package was a new "cassingle" and an older 7 inch.
I Want to Kill Every Human is neither as violent nor as sardonic as a name like that would lead you to believe. I'd definitely categorize it as noise but the 7 inch is much more vibrant than one typically thinks of noise being. The tape, while not extremely abrasive, is more of a roughnecker with a dramatic staccato stutter mutilating the signal. It reminds me vaguely of Scuba Death's Demon Seed without the polish. The track is too basic to totally knock my socks off but I have to say I really dig and appreciate the approach. The track is weirdly hypnotic, and the fact that it repeats on the next side makes the spell that much harder to escape.
Bill Murray is selling these together as a combo for 4 dollars postpaid to the 50 states. That's right, 400 pennies of American currency will get you a pretty damn decent tape and 7 inch, plus a bribe to US gov't to drop it at your doorstep. This stuff is worth taking a flyer on.

Pride of Lowell - Pride of Lowell [Dirty Pillows]
Bearing no relation to Dicky Eklund that I can ascertain, Pride of Lowell is a jazz duo comprised of  Patrick Breiner (tenor sax) and Max Goldman (drums/percussion.) There was a word in the accompanying press release that was actually spot-on: "finesse." Good job marketing department! This tape was kind of refreshing when I first listened because I knew I was getting sax/drums "experimental free jazz" but these guys can really play. I'm all for abrasive, electro-acoustic improv, anti-establishment free jazz that you usually hear on a free jazz tape, but it was kinda cool to hear unrehearsed melodies and tight control of instruments. This hearkens back a little to the "free" of another era. This is much more Ornette or Trane than it is, say, Graveyards or Owl Xounds. Now as I've mentioned many times on this blog I'm no jazz expert, and I'm probably not the best guy to be reviewing jazz but I do know what I like and I like this. I don't want to make it sound like it's too class because there's certainly a significant dose of abstraction to some of the pieces--these guys aren't doing old jazz standards after all. Goldman and Breiner play like a kaleidoscope, constantly changing yet always pleasing to the eye (or ear as it were.)
Dirty Pillows is sending me mixed signals, the presser says it's based in Georgia but the tape showed up from Minnesota, no matter, the internet voided the importance of geography a long time ago. Dirty Pillows is selling these for a reasonable price considering this is a shrink-wrapped, pro-dubbed affair. I recommend checking out the band's origin story after the link too.


Jorge Arana Trio - Mapache [No Label]
Another jazz cassette that has come across my desk recently is by the Jorge Arana Trio out of Kansas City. The trio's style is sort of a scaled back Naked City injected with OCD math rock genes. Some of the coolest moments aren't jazzy in the least such as the relentless arpeggio and Gregorian-esque backing vox on the breakdown of "Snake in the Grass." Or the big, skronky Twin Peaks-esque guitar chords that hit two minutes into "Short & Evil."
As you would assume, the trio is lead by Arana who does double duty on keys and guitar, while Joshua Enyart and Jason Nash form the rhythm section on bass and drums, respectively.
The tape is brimming with nervous energy yet still comes off as pretty buttoned down to me overall; my taste is a little more on the "cut loose" end of things but this stuff is well done.
Side note: I received a couple tapes over the past few months that are emblazoned with the "Dolby" logo, I have yet to confirm or disconfirm that this is an act of irony. The tape does sound good so maybe Mr. Arana is sincere.
You can grab the tape from the band's website


Bastian Void - Fluorescent Bells [Field Hymns]
So my initial response to this project was something like this:

"Wow, it's been a long time since I've heard anything from this project, I have a tape back from 2007 I think that I remember being a pretty good and grimy noise outing but I didn't even realize the project was still active. This sounds really synth-y and way different. This is the same guy that was in People Who Do Noise, right?" 

Turns out I was wrong-o. I was thinking of Portland's Honed Bastion, and I'm going to blame the fact that the Field Hymns label is based in Portland as the source of my confusion. But really, Bastian and Bastion aren't the same word (great close reading, English major.) To be more precise, "bastion" is a word and "bastian" isn't; it's possibly a nickname for Sebastian (I guess...)
Anyhow, that's all a bunch of hooey when it comes down to it. This thing is all synthesizer and drum machines, it sounds like the cover looks (good job Dylan, or whoever designed it) so you probably have an idea of what this sounds like--unless you're blind and someone is reading this aloud to you. It sounds really nice, maybe not the most unique or particularly memorable take on the modern synth-o-sphere but that's becoming increasingly hard to do. I've listened to this a couple times and it just feels so nice to have the one stereo, very lush and atmospheric.
You can find the tape here along with many, many other delicious Field Hymns morsels.

Daring Ear - Ideal Sound [A Giant Fern]
The latest installment from Portugal's A Giant Fern label caught me off-guard. Having dropped blistered psych-rock, mellow drones and a totally out-there tape that I love love love, I wasn't expecting to hear a one-man synth-pop effort from the Bay Area. The dude played in The Impossible Shapes and John Wilkes Booze at that.
Surrounding himself with old drum machines and mellow synths, Aaron Deer spins 11 tracks on Ideal Sound. One band that this tape reminded me of instantly is Xiu Xiu, however Daring Ear is a mild-mannered, slightly glossy and a far more palatable Xiu Xiu (far more palatable to normal types, at least.) A song like "The Peach" (edit: it's "The Reach," blame the too fancy font not me!) I could imagine being a Xiu Xiu cover; Deer's songwriting shares a number of basic tenets with Jamie Stewart's, they each tend to construct minimal arrangements with scattered, abstract drum machines and keyboards, among other sounds, and place plaintive vocals in the center of the mix. The biggest difference is Stewart goes balls-to-wall in every single aspect of Xiu Xiu (which I personally love) whereas Deer is extremely even-keeled, maybe to a fault. Still there are some lovely moments on the tape such as the chorus on "All Swords." I'll have to give this a few more plays and see how it sinks in.
Hit up A Giant Fern if interested

Kirtan Choir - The Unquestioned Answer [Skrot Up]

This cassette by Kirtan Choir was a little bit unexpected coming from Skrot Up which has made a name on a lot of nasty sounding stuff from the gothic nether regions. I'm talking bands like Grave Babies and FNU Ronnies and noise mongers like AG Davis. Unlike the previous names mentioned, Kirtan Choirs music is much more orchestral in nature.
The trio, consisting of Barbara Arriaga (cello, voice), C.J. Boyd (bass guitar, harmonica, cymbals, voice) and Jim Edwards (sampling), reminded me immediately of Godspeed You! Black Emperor when I first listened. They obviously have a significantly pared down lineup (it's unclear but I don't believe Edwards performed with the others on the first and third pieces but was solely responsible for re-working the second piece from pre-recorded material.) The other major difference from the aformentioned Canadian post-rock symphony is the duo of Boyd and Arriaga improvise their material.
You wouldn't automatically think "Beast with Two Backs" is improvised considering how lovely and wistful it is. Arriaga's work on the cello is fantastic and Boyd works simple little melodies around her long bowed strokes. It sounds like there is some multi-tracked embellishing, but Arriaga and Boyd clearly have chemistry together, creating the illusion of more than two people playing and seeming able to guess each others next move at any given moment. This is a really wonderful performance, particularly near the end when Boyd delivers measured chords and Arriaga alternates between intricate, chugging melodies and lonesome howls
"The AIDS Industry" sounds like material was recorded by Boyd and Arriaga and then handed over to Edwards to refashion. I'm unable to tell if he's working with material featured in the other two pieces but he's at least using material that appears in the third piece--or perhaps it's the third piece that's using his material. Edwards's hand certainly pushes the Kirtan Choir into another direction. Often shrouded in digital crackle, he samples and splices various melodies together creating a much more propulsive, rhythmically-driven version of the band. It's an interesting experiment though the unadulterated improvisations are more to my taste.
As alluded to earlier, the beginning of "Life After Near Death" overlaps with "The AIDS Industry." After a few minutes though a glistening harmonica drone fades in and Arriaga's cello is as melancholy as ever. This section eventually segues into an array of voices before reintroducing the cello and harmonica producing a gloriously enveloping blanket of sound. I have a hard time believing this was improvised, but either way, this is good stuff regardless.
Unfortunately, only 60 tapes were made and they appear to be long gone. It looks like the album was also released on CD from Canadian label Jeunesse Cosmique though. It's well worth a little research to track it down though.

April in the Orange - In the Mirror Under the Moon [Cae-sur-a]

While Cory Card's output as head of the Cae-sur-a label has been fairly varied, I was pleasantly surprised when I heard this April in the Orange cassette. Not only does it mark yet another new direction for the label, it's also really good.
Opener "Of the Night Hymn Ikue" is a great little folk ditty with bouyant acoustic strums and a spacey electric guitar (and possibly a keyboard) blanketing the piece and providing occasional counterpoints. This introduces the blueprint that the duo of Andrew Barrett and Samantha Linn use throughout the course of the tape. Acoustic guitar, drowsy vocals, heavily effected electric guitar and keyboard.
There are a lot of great songs on the tape but the best is "Same Old Mystery." It's reminiscent of Warm Climate's Stunned tapes minus the strange soundscaping and rock & roll panache. It's seriously catchy and the electric guitar accompaniment kills it again with an equally catchy riff and nice little solo. Can't get enough of this tune. "Xerxes Folding Roses" ups the ante even more with a positively gorgeous acoustic guitar melody that appears halfway through. "Love All the Same" feels like some of the sleepier MV+EE stuff, very nice.
Barrett and Linn throw a bit of a curve on "Outsideinsideeverywherenowhere" at first, with some reggae-like guitar stabs before they start rolling with acoustic guitar again and somebody starts shredding on his/her axe. One of the more rambunctious tunes included here, making for a great climax before the brief, soft "Under This Wave" leads you into the tape flip.
"Amethyst & Azure" waltzes along, drifting like a cloud with excellent slide accompaniment and hazily effected keyboards. Linn takes over on vocals for "To a Lost Family," and her vocals add a different dimension to the band. Her vocals are recorded much cleaner and their a bit stronger (though still soft) than Barrett's whose vocals tend to blend in with the instruments. Barrett's style probably fits the overall aesthetic a bit better but it was nice to hear Linn for a change of pace.
The final track "Morning Never Came" clocks in at nearly 13 minutes. It's at once one of the stronger and weaker tracks. It features some of the most beautiful songwriting on the tape though It segues into a long "drone" section that feels a little tacked on. I admire the adventurousness but the duo is much better at arranging songs than drones. The main misstep is that the section just sort of goes on and on without being particularly dynamic. Had they shortened it to a minute or two before wrapping things up I might have have applauded them for the left turn but as is I think they veered a little too far off course. Still, I am mostly just complaining at this point, the song is still a good one and you can press stop at any point in the drone and start the tape over.
Druggy, hippy folk can go either way for me, a lot of it is none too great but based on this cassette alone April in the Orange has to be one of the best groups practicing the genre.
In the Mirror Under the Moon is fantastic. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous atmosphere and brilliantly bare little songs. Nimble and pretty addicting, check this baby out!

Long Distance Poison - Ideological State Apparatus [Constellation Tatsu]

Despite having dropped tapes on Digitalis LTD. and Ecstatic Peace!, I somehow missed the memo on this analog synthesizer trio(!) Thankfully brand new label Constellation Tatsu is here to save the day and fill me in with Ideological State Apparatus.
Casey Block, Erica Bradbury and Nathan Cearley do their trucking with an array of seven synthesizers and you can tell cause this thing sounds dense. This isn't some kind of fluffy, soaring-on-a-cloud synth affair; this is the dark side.
The first side, titled "The Three Voices of Tawuse Melek," gives you a good ol' gut punch at the get-go and somehow increases the bass over the course of the track. This isn't pure drone, the trio indulges in sequenced thumps and other synth flutter which is nestled in along side the deep one-finger jamming. When the sequencer kicks in you get instant dystopian crime-drama atmosphere. Too grooving to be militant, the pulse is relentless and easy to succumb to--whether you're a getaway driver, escaping from New York or just a dude on his couch like me, you can't help but feel fucking cool when listening to this. Top-notch shit.
"The Government Spawn Seek the Tomb of Her Stars" begins in a similar fashion with a sole bass drone. After a few minutes of shuttle-launch jettisoning, a member of the trio starts to punctuate every ten seconds or so with a stab as the other synths whimper and whine. While the flip has a groove, this track is dank and damp with a rhythm that's akin to pounding your head repeatedly against a brick wall. This is the sound of things going from bad to worse over a single tape. Crushing stuff.
I now must ask: "why aren't there more synth 'bands?'" They're awesome! I'm all about one mind realizing its vision but there's also something special that a crew brings to this kind of party. Three people all zoning, throbbing, screeching in unison, it's a rare added dimension. It can't be hard synth aficionados, get on it. Pretty soon there will be quartets and with a little luck we'll find The Beatles of the synth-drone genre. A revolution is brewing...
In a short few months, Constellation Tatsu has already dropped 12 tapes! We'll see how long they can keep up the stamina for that pace, but in the mean time this tape is still available at their site.

Kanukanakina - A - Arrival B - Departure [A Giant Fern]

I don't know much about this Kanukanakina project other than Portuguese artist Miguel Pipa is the brains behind the operation. Well, that, and I know this tape rules.
There is a laundry list of materials in Portuguese that I plugged into the ol' internet for a translation and this is what it came up with: "born from crossing experiments, the logical connections and little probable, Funding outer races for bentados collection of pedals, a vast collection of hardware, box-bent, changed radios, tv, sampletrack-bent keyboards, video games, tapes, vinyl, glitch box." There are probably more than a few inaccuracies there but you get the idea.
All this is beside the point however, who needs words when you have sounds?
While Pipa sets a wide array of interesting sounds in motion, the key to the tape is the space he leaves. Pipa never overplays his hand, instead he takes his time traveling through the aural space, suitcase in hand, brimming with sounds. As the title A - Arrival B - Departure suggests, the tape does feel like a journey.
The sounds range from quiet crackle to strange, frantic circuit emanations to mechanical/percussive clanks to (I think) treated field recordings/samples. Pipa does a splendid job imbuing his palette with vibrant energy yet keeping so it so tightly coiled there is a heightened sense of anticipation throughout the tape. There is a tactile quality to the sounds which I love, you can feel Pipa's hands creating this. The tape continually develops organic little rhythms, often juxtaposing frequencies each with its own opposing rhythm.
One of the most fascinating aspects to the tape is the tension between chance and control. The type of sounds that Pipa works with suggest an element of randomness or unpredictability but the feel of the tape is so confident and focused, it's hard to believe that this was not composed down to each nanosecond. Truth be told, I have no idea where Arrival lies on the spectrum between complete composition and complete improvisation. Considering how meticulous the construction is, I would not at all be surprised if Pipa had somehow created sheet music for the entire album despite there being very few musical notes over the course of the tape (there is a very lovely lullaby that opens the second side however.)
The process of the tape is a single fluid motion through a series of vignettes, each created on its own terms yet a seamless extension of those that precede it. Pipa is precise in his layering of the audio: he uses the stereo spectrum to his advantage, creating the illusion of three-dimensional space between the two headphones and he only chooses a few sounds at a time, arranging them to all have impact without causing distraction.
I don't know how long this guy has been doing this, but he sounds like a master to me.
With the culmination of the tape Pipa breaks out of the intense subtlety. He lets circuits squeal and freakout leading to a brief clip of an author at a book reading then onto a heavily processed reconstruction of a female-fronted pop song. Then the curtain falls.
Comparisons that come to mind are Peter Taylor's excellent Mortuus Auris & the Black Hand project or the Foton tape on Field Hymns that I recently reviewed. Pipa is traveling in his own channel though and its a good idea to come along for the ride. Putting the headphones on and pressing play is simply a treat.
The cassette is still available from Portugal's A Giant Fern label and I definitely recommend you take a look.

In Brief #2: Hymns of the Field

For the second, and long-awaited I'm sure, installment of "In Brief" I'm shining a bit of a spotlight on a great little label out of Portland, OR (one of the few places I call home.) Headed by founder and CEO Dylan McConnell, Field Hymns always seems to exude fun and exuberance for the music it releases. While fizzy electro-pop seems to be Field Hymns's forte, some of my favorite releases from the label have been from when it went a little off-script and, thus, Foton, Mattress, Susurrus and White Glove are our subjects today.

Foton - Omega [Field Hymns]
I don't know who this Foton is, but I'd like to. My only possible guess would be that this is another offshoot of Dylan's, although the titles look like Russian (?) but perhaps that's a red herring.
Omega is a pretty great piece of work. Lacking a better term, I started just calling it "something-concrete." It doesn't quite fit into the typical notion of sound-collage/musique-concrete, the vast majority of the material if not all appears to be inorganically (that is electronically) created rather than working with found sounds. That said, it doesn't fit into the "academic synthesizer electronic workshop" field too neatly either--it's a little too vibrant, or energetic shall we say. There are elements of those modes, along with a touch of avant-percussive pitter-patter. There are various fragments of synth--some beautiful, some more in line with 50s sci-fi sound effects--strange filtered guitar passages, synthesized whistling etc. all patched together into a well-paced though decidedly not seamless trip. It's a bizarre world of sound. Often you don't get much more than a glimmer but that's usually enough for these capsules to be absorbed, particularly when Omega morphs into more "symphonic" phrases. A strange synthesized circus number and another grand, almost funereal, piece at the end of the first side are highlights.
While the first side is ostensibly divided into 5 tracks (I can't discern where one ends and one begins--the side seems to be a continuous series of vignettes) the second side is billed as a single piece. It's still similar to the first but there's a noticeable shift in pace, it unfurls much slower and more quietly. It perhaps promises more but maintains it's scaled-back minimalism throughout. One of the more interesting elements of the track is its indulgence into "free" territory, sounding like a sparse jazz ensemble reproduced on synthesizer. In comparison to the first side, it's at once more epic and smaller in scale. My preference veers toward the oddities littering the first side but the extended transience of the second is commendable as well. This is a great little tape and an unsung gem from the year so far.

Mattress - Lonely Souls [Field Hymns]
If you don't know Rex Marshall's music track down his Low Blows LP pronto. Dude's shit is awesome simple as that. The reductive Rolling Stone capsule review would read "Mattress is Nick Cave-meets-Suicide" and while that is true in a number of ways Rex's style is uniquely his own and, plainly said, the guy's one of the best songwriters we have right now.
Lonely Souls marks the second time I've had the pleasure of hearing Rex on cassette, well third if I count his work with his R&B group, The Reservations. Marshall channels his frequent muse Suicide in the fantastic opener "Done All My Time" but does so with a decidedly cosmic bent. A propulsive drum machine hisses while Marshall opens interstellar portals with deep synth throbs. "I am not a member of these times" he croons, how true. "Forget My Name" features live drums by Ethan Jayne (even so they still sound filtered/blasted to hell) but they imbue the track with a certain looseness that keeps the repetition fresh and organic. Also, Rex duets with himself on this track, sweet! "Lied Again" reminds me a little of Blank Dogs, albeit at a lethargic pace, before Mike Sniper stopped caring. Totally unnerving, this has slowly become one of my favorites; the mix sounds inherently unstable, I half expect the floor to drop out at any moment and the drum machine to die, if not Rex himself.
Guitar and bass rear their heads among the the synth-buzz on "Dead Ends" allowing Marshall to work in little keyboard counter-melodies here and there. It's one of the relatively cleaner sounding tracks and still Rex sounds like he's singing from across the room. "Shake Me" edges into some weird, nearly dubstep territory. Incongruous drum machines wobble and trip over each in asynchronous fashion. It catches you off-guard at first but makes perfect sense given Mattress's style.
The quasi-title track "Only Lonely Souls" enters the pantheon of 100% Solid Gold Mattress Hits, joining "Roll Roll Roll," "Church That Shit," "Remember" and "Bad Times" among many others. Rex gets down, unleashing the most grooving piece of work he's ever composed. Mattress has always been catchy in its own special way but Rex seems to be courting pop vibes a little more than usual on this one. It's a good look for him.
I could tell you that all the songs are top notch, but that kinda goes without saying every time the spine reads "Mattress."
This is the darkest, heaviest, nastiest and flat out bassiest release I've heard from Rex. Much of the time, Marshall employs pretty sparse arrangements. And in a way the arrangements on this tape are still minimal: the elements are voice, drum machine, synth, occasionally guitar and guest drums by Ethan Jayne on two tracks. Yet these Mattress songs sound much more immense than any previous ones--Rex's booming voice sounds claustrophobic wedged between mountains of thick synth signals.
The inside of the j-card reads "Low Fidelity... A Mono Recording" so maybe that's the secret to whipping up this monolithic mash.

Susurrus - Susurrus [Field Hymns]
Speaking of monoliths, Dylan McConnell stealthily slipped out a release by his drone alter-ego Susurrus a few months back. This was a left-field smack in the face of the highest order. This is legit DRONE. I was used to bobbing along to McConnell's various playful synth-pop tapes under the Oxykitten and Adderall Canyonly monikers, so learning that this tape was executed by Dylan was a shock. Headphones are recommended if not essential (I suppose a fancy surround-sound system would do nicely as well) as there is a lot of play along the stereo spectrum. And plus, this thing sounds heavy. Not "heavy metal" kind of heavy, I'm talking fat, thick, sounds-like-it-weighs-a-ton heavy.
Organized into two movements (one on each side naturally) this album is orchestrated seamlessly. At its bass, (bad pun, deal with it) there's always some sort of deep tone or throb. The movement's expansion is nearly imperceptible at first. What's particularly great about this is there's a heavy dose of microtonal aesthetics but rather than boring the shit out of you for better or worse, McConnell massages various "musical" features out of his tones without betraying that deep, immovable-object aesthetic.
The second movement has a higher degree of sine wave pitter patter in the midst of subtle but deep tone tunneling. McConnell whips out waves of every form and it's great.
Honestly, I can pick out the minutiae of the different moments and try to give you an idea of what it's like but I'm not getting you any closer to actually hearing it. There's not a ton I can say about this other than this is some really good fucking drone. And I feel it's been some time since I've heard some really good fucking drone (the recent Dull Knife LP is also quite good.) It just feels good to be enveloped again.

White Glove - White Glove [Field Hymns]
White Glove is a bedroom project of Tim Wenzel; consisting of acoustic guitar and muted snare drum, Wenzel weaves snarky tales of trust fund kids, skateboarding, getting beat up by skinheads, having pink eye and also just what Heaven is like.
The tape is chock full of great songs from the start. The opener "Trust Fund Kids" implies that trust fund kids are just like pod people ("they look like me and you/but they got us fooled") Furthering the pod people implication, the previously skeptical Wenzel quickly succumbs to wishing he was a trust fund kid--he'd buy all his friends pizza, build a super-tight spine ramp, buy beer and a bunch of tapes and ultimately "make financial mistakes."
"High Bike" is a soft ballad about  the silly high bikes some people ride around Portland. "Jesse" is a sort of re-imagining of "Jesse's Girl"--it's not a cover, and musically doesn't share any ground with Rick Springfield's "classic"--but it is about Jesse's girl who "swings both ways." "Too Young" is a sardonic ode to young love, and a possible sequel to "Jesse" (?)
My hands down favorite is "Skate Heaven," Wenzel's detailed description of the new skate park that was just built in Heaven. Wenzel notes that it "sounds like a super heck-a fun" and "You don't have to wear full pads/You don't have go with mom and dad/You don't have to pay any money" although he notes the one rule: "If you wanna go you gotta die... and go to heaven." However, Heaven is not all sunshine and skate ramps, Wenzel admits "the one thing that kinda sucks is it's always cloudy"
To those cynics out there who might ask: even if there is a "Heaven," why would there be a skate park there? Well, the answer my friends is simple: "They're trying to get more people in heaven/that's why they built a skate park and a 7-Eleven"
 The track perfectly culminates in a hallelujah chorus by the "skateboarding angels" who "ride the sky." It's a great song; one that has earned many repeated listens.
"Sober" whips out the electric guitar and it's actually a pretty good fit for White Glove shenanigans--I wouldn't mind seeing Wenzel play these songs with a sloppy, blown out punk band.
The bottom line is the tape is a lot of fun. You like fun right?

You can hit up Field Hymns to grab these suckers. And you probably should.